Evaluation of greases

Good greif Charlie Brown, 22 greases!

What brand or brands are you currently using?

What type of grease are you currently using? Lithium, Inorganic Clay, Poly Butene, Calcium 12-Hydroxystearate etc...

What type of equipment are you greasing? Sliding components, bearings etc...

Any special conditions like high heat, dusty enviroment, needs to be waterproof?

What NGLI grades are you using? 00,0,1,2 etc...

I agree that some reduction in the number of greases you use is a good idea. Not only does it reduce inventory cost but it also reduces the chance of someone using the wrong grease in something.

Texas Refinery Corp. has some very good greases and you may find that their Lithplex, 880 Crown and Chassis and Paragon 3000 can handle most all of your needs for a general purpose grease

Micbial;
We are currently using Chevron, Shell, DA Stuart, Mobil, Klubers, and Brooks.
Types include Lithium, Barium, Calcium, Calcium 12 Hydroxy, and Polyurea.
We are greasing motor bearings, roll bearings, slides, and couplings.
NLGI grades include 00, 0, 1, 2, and 3.
The environment includes heat, caustic, dusty, and wet.
We have just about every extreme possible.

Thanks

Wow! For starters I would try to stick with one manufacturer. All those different manufacturers and type greases is bound to create compatibility problems at some point (if it hasn't already). Not only that but by sticking with one manufacturer and reducing the number of greases you carry it reduces the inventory cost. If you go with a high quality multi purpose grease like the Paragon 3000 you can buy it in 275 gallon returnable bulk containers or 3000 pound flow bins. Buying in bulk containers also reduces initial cost.

A excellent grease that would cover that vast majority of your grease needs would be the TRC Paragon 3000 in NGLI 1 and 2. Great problem so**er grease with very high droping point, Timken load and stability by penetration, making it great for extreme conditions. There 880 Crown and Chassis grease and Moly 880 Crown and Chassis grease is also a excellent grease but does not have as high a droping point. Both are great in wet conditions and dusty enviroments. The Paragon 3000 can even maintain it's Timken load rating in the presence of 20% water making it great for very wet enviroments.

For extreme heat conditions above 570 degree working temp and 630 degree droping point of the Paragon 3000 you might want to try their Hi-Temp grease. It has no droping point making it great for extreme temperature applications.

For your NGLI 0 and 00 I take it they are in automatic lubrication systems. The Millennium 2200 is a good NGLI 0 and 00 grease for automatic centralized lube systems. It is a Calcium 12-Hydroxysterate grease with Moly and Graphite for solid film lubrication properties.

Curious what is the NGLI 3 grease used for? Exposed gear lubrication or to prevent melting in high heat conditions?

Do you operate any spray lubrication systems?

Whatever you choose to go with I highly suggest sticking with only one or two suppliers.

CRB
........something you might want to consider is to pull all the technical data sheets for the products you currently use and see where you have duplication (same NLGI grade, ISO viscosity and performence criteria). Next look at the products that you have minimal application usage for and determine if you NEED that product. Go through that proces until you either determine that the products are required or not based on the OEM recomendations. After all this is done then you need to look ate the environtmal operation conditions (as they relate to the lube) to determine if the product slate covers off the conditions (you might have to add products here). After all this is done ON PAPER.... Consideration needs to be given to flushing out the old products and replaceing them with the new selection.
BTW all of this is normally done if you opt to get someone in to assist you with this process...

regards.....

quote:

Originally posted by Alan Wallace:
CRB
........something you might want to consider is to pull all the technical data sheets for the products you currently use and see where you have duplication (same NLGI grade, ISO viscosity and performence criteria). Next look at the products that you have minimal application usage for and determine if you NEED that product. Go through that proces until you either determine that the products are required or not based on the OEM recomendations. After all this is done then you need to look ate the environtmal operation conditions (as they relate to the lube) to determine if the product slate covers off the conditions (you might have to add products here). After all this is done ON PAPER.... Consideration needs to be given to flushing out the old products and replaceing them with the new selection.
BTW all of this is normally done if you opt to get someone in to assist you with this process...

regards.....

I agree
I would first group greases by soap type
then NLGI grade

at that point you will see a lot of duplication.

This will give you some family groups as example
NLGI #2 lithium complex at this point you can combine or eliminate some greases within that group based on wash out, timken etc.

This will narrow down the list
then look and vist at useage areas and try to standardize on a grade and soap type for the most exstreme use area.

Hardest thing is to get data together.

I have been a CLS for 32 years and that is how I start when I do a lube survey.

After doing this you will still have a few greases left and then look at more detail of the aplications and things like avaliblity and use volume, all this will start to help formulate a plan to get down to perhaps one grease type
say a Lithium complex in a NLGI 1,2 grade and maybe a high temp non melt type.

also call up suppliers and have them offer interchanges to the competitiors or do a lube survrey if they wont cross tham off.

good luck like eating a elephant you have to start somewhere.
bruce CLS

My approach might slightly differ from those already suggested. I would not get bogged down with soaps and thickeners. I also would not limit my options by sticking to the same manufacturer as someone suggested, because if you have, till now, handled all 20-something of those different greases without major mishaps, then you would be able with ease to handle three or four different ones that would be selected.

So, first, I would examine and tabulate OEM grease requirements for each piece of equipment. Then separate them (group them) based on environmental conditions (e.g. is it outside or underwater applications, or where water is not an issue, etc.). I would then examine and tabulate main characteristics of greases that are currently used for this equipment (e.g. load, water washout, NLGI). Take a good and long look at such developed tables, and identify and group perfect matches and not so perfect matches, but which still have some partially compatible main characteristics. Now here, you must be aware that selected grease for a group of equipment will be an overkill for some equipment, but suitable (meeting standards) for others. Do not shortchange any piece of equipment. It is perfectly OK to use on some equipment a consolidated grease with more superior characteristics than required, than to use unfit grease. Good luck!

Here's a good basic overview of the basic step-by-step grease selection process from Machinery Lubrication magazine. It's a good article that explains the basic's.

To All;
Thanks for taking the time to assist with my issue, the information is very helpful.

Good day,
Charlie

be advised tho that if you do change grease soap types and some time even EP/AW chemisrty yo may have grease de gelling issues so if a change or consolidation is made keep an eye out for any problems and perhaps increase lube intervals for a few months to purge old grease.

bruce

quote:

Originally posted by bruce381:

quote:

Originally posted by Alan Wallace:
CRB
........something you might want to consider is to pull all the technical data sheets for the products you currently use and see where you have duplication (same NLGI grade, ISO viscosity and performence criteria). Next look at the products that you have minimal application usage for and determine if you NEED that product. Go through that proces until you either determine that the products are required or not based on the OEM recomendations. After all this is done then you need to look ate the environtmal operation conditions (as they relate to the lube) to determine if the product slate covers off the conditions (you might have to add products here). After all this is done ON PAPER.... Consideration needs to be given to flushing out the old products and replaceing them with the new selection.
BTW all of this is normally done if you opt to get someone in to assist you with this process...

regards.....

I agree
I would first group greases by soap type
then NLGI grade

at that point you will see a lot of duplication.

This will give you some family groups as example
NLGI #2 lithium complex at this point you can combine or eliminate some greases within that group based on wash out, timken etc.

This will narrow down the list
then look and vist at useage areas and try to standardize on a grade and soap type for the most exstreme use area.

Hardest thing is to get data together.

I have been a CLS for 32 years and that is how I start when I do a lube survey.

After doing this you will still have a few greases left and then look at more detail of the aplications and things like avaliblity and use volume, all this will start to help formulate a plan to get down to perhaps one grease type
say a Lithium complex in a NLGI 1,2 grade and maybe a high temp non melt type.

also call up suppliers and have them offer interchanges to the competitiors or do a lube survrey if they wont cross tham off.

good luck like eating a elephant you have to start somewhere.
bruce CLS

bruce381 you need to be carefull when you state you qualifications, that your credential don't get questioned. For example C.L.S. (Certified Lubrication Specialists) is a registered trademark to STLE (Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers) STLE first started offering CLS certification in the late 90's so for you to claim that you have been a CLS for 32 years appears to be a bit of a stretch. Or mabey you meant something else with the letters CLS.

regards......

CRB, 22 greases is way too many. Most plants should need 3 or 4 different greases. An electric motor or roller bearing grease, a general purpose grease and a coupling grease. You may need one or two more for extreme tempertures, very heavy loads etc, but certainly not 22. Check out my article on grease selection on the machinery lubrication site. http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?...getitle=Step-by-Step Grease Selection

Jarrod,

Your article is a good overview. How would you address the common practice of most motors being factory greased or re-greased at rebuild shops with a polyurea based grease? Do you default to using a single polyurea that meets most of the specs for motors to avoid a polyurea and lithium incompatibility? Also, for some equipment it might not be practical to expect maintenance folks to carry more than one grease gun (into an air handling unit, for example). So do we try to spec the polyurea for both motor and fan bearings to avoid the mixing of greases? If we have an established program (like the one with 22 greases) and standardize on 3 or 4 new greases, how to we handle the crossover period? How best to address potential incompatibilities from the new designated greases? Should we be trying to purge out the old grease? The real challenge lies in the implementation of a change in greases.

I am trying to address some of these issues in a facility with a long history of using whatever grease they can find. I'm leary of specifying anything other than a polyurea or polyurea compatible grease for motors, with the knowledge that replacement or rebuilt motors will almost certainly arrive packed with polyurea. Interested in hearing your thoughts and others on this board.

Thanks,

Rich Wurzbach
STLE Certified Lubrication Specialist (CLS)
Maintenance Reliability Group